NSW Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton has announced a public inquiry into the Blue Mountains Council’s bungled management of asbestos.

June 27, 2018

The Blue Mountains City Council’s bungled management of asbestos will be examined by a public inquiry backed by the NSW government.

Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton says the inquiry will examine serious allegations relating to the council’s asbestos management since 2012 following concerns about the potentially-dangerous building material being discovered in several of its buildings.

The inquiry will also look at how the council set up its own independent inquiry into asbestos management last November amid allegations that an investigator had links to a senior council employee.

Ms Upton has appointed barrister Richard Beasley, SC, to head the inquiry.

“Anyone with concerns about the council can now raise them with the commissioner of the public inquiry and the matters will be appropriately aired and tested,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.

The council launched its own independent investigation into its alleged asbestos mismanagement after the material was found at Wentworth Falls Pre-School, council depot buildings, leaf litter in the yard of another pre-school, Lawson Library, the Warrimoo Citizens’ Hall and Heatherbrae Cottage.

Mayor Mark Greenhill rejected the criticism of its governance and due diligence practices when the allegations of the conflict of interest surfaced in February.

The public inquiry will examine the council and councillors’ handling of asbestos management issues during the past six years, including funding and co-operation with state government agencies.

The council’s recruitment and contracting processes will also be examined, including those related to the independent investigations into asbestos management and employment issues.